The present invention relates to a breathable adsorbing material having a protective function against chemical poisons, especially chemical warfare agents, having improved wear comfort, especially for the production of protective materials, such as protective suits, protective gloves, protective shoes, protective covers (to transport casualties, for example) and the like, especially for NBC deployment, and also to its use in the aforementioned protective materials.
There are a whole series of chemical entities which are absorbed by the skin and lead to serious physical harm. Examples include the vesicatory mustard gas Yellow Cross and the nerve gas sarin. People likely to come into contact with such poisons must wear a suitable protective suit or be protected against these poisons by suitable protective materials.
There are in principle three types of protective suits: air and water vapor impervious protective suits which are equipped with a layer of rubber impervious to chemical poisons, and which very rapidly lead to a buildup of heat; air and water vapor pervious protective suits, which offer the highest wear comfort; and finally protective suits which are equipped with a membrane which is pervious to water vapor but not to the poisons mentioned.
NBC protective apparel is thus traditionally produced either from completely impermeable systems (suits composed of butyl rubber, for example) or permeable, adsorptive filter systems based on activated carbon (powders, fibers or spherocarbon).
Protective suits against chemical warfare agents that are intended for prolonged deployment under a variety of conditions must not lead to heat buildup for the wearer. Therefore, mainly air pervious materials are utilized.
The air pervious, permeable protective suits generally possess an adsorption layer based on activated carbon which binds the chemical poisons very durably, so that even badly contaminated suits do not pose any danger whatsoever to the wearer. The great advantage of this system is that the activated carbon is accessible on the inside as well as the outside, so that poisons which have succeeded in penetrating at damaged or otherwise nontight locations are very rapidly adsorbed. Under extreme conditions, for example when a drop of a thickened poison lands from a considerable height on a somewhat open location on the outer material and is able to strike through to the carbon, however, the carbon layer may be locally not up to its task for a brief period.
The adsorbing layer in the air pervious, permeable protective suits described above is in most cases engineered such that either activated carbon particles up to about 1.0 mm in size on average are bonded to small heaps of adhesive printed onto a support, or else a reticulated PU foam impregnated with a “carbon paste” (i.e., binder plus activated carbon) is used as an adsorbing layer, in which case the adsorbing layer is generally complemented by an outer, i.e., covering material, and the wearer-facing inside surface is covered with a lightweight textile material. Occasionally, however, composite materials will be utilized which comprise a sheetlike activated carbon structure, for example an activated carbon batt.
There are also protective suits deployed which are equipped with a membrane which, although water vapor pervious for enhanced wear comfort, also act as a barrier layer to liquids, especially toxic agents. Such a material is described for example in EP 0 827 451 A2.
Protective suits having a membrane which is pervious to water vapor but impervious to poisons, especially contact poisons, have the disadvantage that poisons which have succeeded in penetrating at nontight locations remain in the interior of the protective suit and are absorbed through the skin of the wearer.
The present invention then has for its object to provide an adsorbing or protective material which avoids at least some of the disadvantages described above and which is especially useful for the production of NBC protective materials, such as protective suits, protective gloves, protective shoes, protective covers and the like.
The present invention further has for its object to provide an adsorbing material, especially for use in protective materials, such as protective suits, protective gloves, protective shoes, protective covers and the like, which—as well as a water vapor pervious membrane which at least strongly retards or prevents the passage especially of chemical warfare and toxic agents (contact poisons, for example)—comprises an adsorbing layer based on activated carbon. A certain degree of weight saving on the part of the adsorbing material is desired too.
The present invention further has for its object to provide an adsorbing material, especially for use in protective materials, such as protective suits, protective gloves, protective shoes, protective covers and the like, which ensures a high wear comfort.
By way of achievement of the object described above, the present invention proposes an adsorbing material according to claim 1. Further, advantageous elaborations of the adsorbing material of the present invention are the subject of respective subclaims and independent claims.
The present invention further provides for the use of the present invention's adsorbing material for producing protective materials, especially protective suits, protective gloves, protective shoes, protective covers (to transport casualties, for example), and the like, especially for NBC deployment.
The present invention further has for its object to provide protective materials, especially protective suits, protective gloves, protective shoes, protective covers (to transport casualties, for example), protective suits and the like, especially for NBC deployment, which have been produced using the adsorbing material of the present invention.
Further advantages, properties, aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred operative example depicted in the drawing.